What happened to the shadows (Part 11)

"The horror in her face will haunt me for the rest of my days. She took a step back when she saw me and yelled. She didn't stop to scream. I tried to reassure her, to tell her it was ok, but she said these words: "What have you done? Monster!", and it was the moment I understood she was not killed. 

In reality, Tara asked to be burned. She asked to be purified, from me. She hated me to the core, her cries resonated in the place and it excited the demons under my orders. Everything was out of control, my beloved was disgusted by me. 

She called me names, monsters, abominations, errors of nature, and many others when I just wanted to be a human, to love and to be loved, but I looked around me, and I only saw desolation and despair. 

Tara claimed everything was my fault, that I was bringing chaos because I was the chaos. She said I must die and I thought she was right. No matter how much I tried to explain myself, my words were stuck in my throat in unbearable pain. 

It was a long moment, a very long one, I thought she would never stop crying and my heart was aching. I went silent, there was nothing I could say that could arrange things. I was glad she was alive, at least she would survive, I would not have to bear the pain of the end of her life because of me, but that was a selfish mistake. Her hatred turned into fury. 

She suddenly threw herself at me. Tara tried to hurt me, but the ring was only regenerating her body. It didn't give her power. Her punch hurt my face and it was so strong that she broke her bones. I was sorry for her, she had no chance against me, even if she truly wanted to. Even if I wanted it to. I tried not to move while she beat me, I wanted to give her the satisfaction of passing her pain on me. 

Unfortunately, it had the inverse effect. The more she tried the more she yelled. There was no way she could damage me and she was learning it. I was not the nobleman she thought she knew. The guilt of having lied to her was incredible. 

I was not only a monster, I was the king of the darkness. I was the worst. 

Tara kneeled, exhausted by the assaults she kept throwing at me, the dead around us were looking at her. They were admiring this beautiful woman's golden hair and eyes, in awe of the gold replacing the missing members. 

The dome recovering the village was one gigantic unique portal to the Ombrae. I didn't want to do it but it happened with my pain. I was unsure how to close it, I was suffering too much to be able to control anything anymore. 

I started to feel numb, hoping that everything was only a nightmare, but the real nightmare was coming. 

He came from the sky of the Ombrae, his powerful white wings were shining in the dark and Tara was in awe. My dear brother came to join us, the village was considered in the Ombrae and he enjoyed this opportunity to leave the Golden City in the sky. 

Once he landed, I walked in his direction, tears were running down my cheeks and I needed my brother more than ever. Of course, when I reached for him, he started to laugh. Archanium pushed me with one hand to keep me at a distance and told me I would mess his armor with my bloody tears. 

I stayed stunned, unable to understand the gravity of the events. I only realized what was in front of me when I saw Tara running to my brother and embracing him. My jaw dropped to the floor and the smile of my brother was everything I needed to be completely broken. 

He caressed her hair still keeping a victorious look at me while she was sobbing in his arms. I had no words to describe the pain I felt, I could exactly tell where my heart was and that, even if it was not pumping blood, it broke into two distinct parts. 

I stayed stunned and Tara was calming in his arms, not mine. I tried to come closer and to tell her I was the one who went to ask for the ring, that Archanium gave it to me for me to reanimate her. 

That I loved her. 

The only thing I had in return was the sadistic laughter of Archanium echoing in the place. Tara was his, her look was full of admiration, and her eyes were in awe of him. Her hands caressed his chest with passion, and I was here. Near them, close and too far at the same time. 

I could only cry after my fate. I didn't know what I did wrong. How was it possible that things turned so bad? I only wanted to be loved. I only wanted her in my life, like Archanium was happy with a human, I wanted to be happy with this special someone too.

Archanium used his powers to make her sleep when she was in his arms. His words remained in my spirit, making me shiver in the evening.

"There was a time when I was happy. A time when my queen was alive and well. You took everything from me and now, you eventually experience what I had to learn how to deal with

Five hundred years have passed and my pain remains the same. Now, little brother, you are going to taste a bit of your own medicine."

I was not even trying to defend myself. The view of Tara admiring him, his words towards me, the corpses around me, everything was incredibly hard. I wanted to wake up now. I only wanted to please everyone. Just to be loved, at least a bit. 

Archanium was savoring my pain, it was a sweet victory to him. 

I didn't move, I could not. Everything was surreal, I begged my brother to reanimate my beloved only for him to take her away from me in an extremely cruel way. 

He was the prince charming I always wanted to be. Archanium was handsome and in appearance, he was caring, kind, and attentive. He took Tara a bit stronger and whispered things in her ear. She was much calmer after what he told her. 

She even was taken by a god of the Golden City to be led to her new living place. Tara would live with Archanium now and my mouth was still hanging down. I looked at her leaving me without even turning her head in my direction once. 

Tara would discover what it is to be a god even if she was technically speaking corpse. Without the ring, her body would stop functioning. She was not alive anymore, she was between life and death. Maintained by the will of my brother. 

He would hurt her, I knew it but I was frozen and incapable of thinking properly. 

Archanium came to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I remember it because it was the first time he had such an affection for me. He proposed to take a few more bottles and go back to the golden city in the sky. He was enjoying this moment much more than anything. I was looking at the void of the sky over us. 

There would be no stars anymore to look at together. My eyes were lost on her back while she was taken away to the city of the gods in the Ombrae where she would be well treated. My beloved would have eternal life in the light. That was the best I could have done for her, however, it didn't help me to show her what I truly felt for her and the tears flooded my face.

When she was far enough away, Archanium laughed out loud and took a step forward to be closer to me. He was enjoying the situation and reached the climax of the pleasure he could be able to feel that night.

I had lost everything in one day, my brother came to me and said, "You took away my family. Now you know what it was for me."

I was eaten by the guilt once more. I wanted to cry and scream that he was unfair. I hurt his family by accident five hundred years ago and I was measuring just how Archanium could have a twisted mind to imagine such a plan only to punish me for something that happened so long ago. 

My dear brother never could move on from the loss of his Queen.

He looked at me with this hateful look before leaving to follow his new goddess, Archanium never had the intention to help me. I didn't know how much he was involved in what happened to me but I was sure of one thing now. 

After five hundred years, my brother's hate towards me was intact."